


Of Particular Interest

by Scrawlers



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 12:49:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8144650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scrawlers/pseuds/Scrawlers
Summary: While on a trip to Ambrette Town to pick up Kangaskhanite that had been harvested for him, Lysandre happens upon a twelve-year-old boy with a charmander who is searching for mega stones.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic quite a bit ago (and uploaded it to Tumblr) because, to me, the scene where Lysandre first approaches Alan in the ruins always looked somehow staged. It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that Lysandre just happened upon Alan there. It doesn’t feel as though Lysandre brought Alan back on his private jet on a whim. To me, it feels like Lysandre knew Alan was going to be there, and that he had prior interest in him. And that begs the question . . . just how long was he stalking that child for?
> 
> Time and age are tricky things in the Pokémon anime universe. We know that time does pass and characters do grow older, but at the same time, Ash Ketchum is still ten after six (seven, if you count the Orange Archipelago) journeys. The anime plays fast and loose with time and age, and as such a lot of is open for interpretation. That said, my personal headcanon has it that Alan left Professor Sycamore’s when he was twelve (since he looks a bit older than ten in the flashback, and his journey wasn’t planned to be a typical trainer’s journey; it was a decision he made strictly based on their research and his desire to help with it) and is fifteen in the present day. That headcanon plays into this fic here, so I thought I’d just throw it out there to help out a little bit. Additionally, I headcanon that Alan’s charizard is actually nicknamed Lizardon, and has been since he was a charmander, and that comes into play a couple times, too. So to avoid confusion, that’s what that is about.

Lysandre first noticed the boy in Ambrette Town. The truth being what it was, it would have been difficult for him not to.

There was nothing particularly striking about the boy himself (at least at first glance), but there was something to be said about the charmander that clung to the boy’s shoulder in the middle of the cramped research center. Its tail flame was healthy—perhaps a bit brighter and stronger than others of its kind—and it listened intently just as intently to the researcher the boy was speaking to as the boy himself did. But even that wasn’t enough to hold Lysandre’s attention for long. Many trainers walked around with their pokémon riding on their heads or shoulders, or strutting by their sides. In more open areas, Lysandre was fond of letting Pyroar roam free. While the boy clearly didn’t have the wisdom to realize that letting a charmander’s tail flame wag freely in such a small, crowded area wasn’t a good idea, there was nothing particularly remarkable about _that_ either, given his age.

But while the boy was nothing noteworthy upon first glance, as Lysandre moved past him and the researcher he was speaking with to head toward the door, the boy said something that caught his attention:

“So there really have been Mega Stones found in Glittering Cave?”

“If our records are correct, yes. The scarcity of Mega Stones makes it difficult to trace a pattern or even provide concrete evidence that they existed, but it seems as if there is something in the mineral composition of Glittering Cave that has resulted in the natural creation of at least a handful of these stones over our history,” the researcher said. It was information Lysandre already knew—information Lysandre had proof of through the Kangaskhanite tucked safely into his pocket—but the boy’s face lit up as he turned to the charmander on his shoulder.

“I knew we were on the right track. We’ll have a Mega Stone by the end of the week!” The boy’s charmander made a happy sound of agreement as he scratched under its chin, and after the two were done celebrating, the boy turned back to the researcher and bowed. “Thank you for your time and information. You’ve been very helpful.”

The researcher smiled. “Of course. It isn’t like I’d say no to Sycamore’s boy.”

For a moment, the boy looked as taken aback by the information as Lysandre himself felt. “Ah, actually, I’m . . .” he said, but as the researcher looked at him in confusion he trailed off and smiled. It might have been Lysandre’s imagination, but it looked somehow wistful. He bowed again. “Thank you. Lizardon, let’s go find that Mega Stone.”

The charmander made another sound of agreement, and though the researcher only gave the pair one last look of bemusement before she returned to her work, Lysandre watched the boy until he left through the door on the other side of the research center—the one closest to Glittering Cave.

At present, there were no more Mega Stones to be found in Glittering Cave. Lysandre’s own grunts had made sure of that, and had the boy spoken to a different researcher—say, the one who had made sure to transfer the Kangaskhanite directly into Lysandre’s hands—he would have known that. But he didn’t know, and Lysandre wasn’t sure how long he would spend canvasing the cave until he reached that conclusion himself, but he was curious to find out the answer.

He pulled his Holo Caster from his pocket. Plans would need to be rearranged.

**\- - -**

The boy spent three days searching Glittering Cave from top to bottom.

Lysandre wasn’t present himself for this, but he had sent a pairs of grunts to take turns in shift keeping watch over the boy. The boy didn’t detect them for the first evening or next day, but by the following night he spotted one of them when she wandered too close. From his grunts’ reports, the boy was eager to battle; the only pokémon he used was the charmander, but it was enough to take out the gulpin and electrike the grunt had on her. Initially Lysandre had told the grunts to be careful not to attract suspicion, but—dressed in civilian clothes as they were—after the first grunt’s battle with the boy, Lysandre gave them the go-ahead to continue challenging him. He was curious whether or not the boy had any other pokémon on him at all, and if not, how long it would take to wear out his charmander.

Over the course of the three days, the boy didn’t reveal any other pokémon, and he kept his charmander fighting fit using potions and berries. Lysandre’s grunts weren’t able to defeat him; they pushed him to the edge a few times according to their hastily told tales, but at no point was the boy’s charmander knocked out. In honesty, Lysandre wasn’t sure whether this meant that his grunts were pathetically weak, or if it meant the boy was particularly strong. He sent the grunts in for remedial training regardless.

After the disappointment of not locating any Mega Stones, Lysandre expected the boy to give up. He couldn’t have been older than eleven or twelve, and Lysandre couldn’t think of many children who were particularly invested in Mega Stones. But according to Lysandre’s grunts, although the boy had been disappointed when he left the cave empty handed, they overheard him telling his charmander that they would simply have to look somewhere else. Whatever his reason for searching for Mega Stones (and from the conversation at the research center it seemed to have something to do with Professor Augustine Sycamore), it didn’t seem as if he was inclined to give up very soon.

Lysandre assigned two grunts who had noted abilities in tracking to keep an eye on him.

**\- - -**

Most days, Lysandre simply received reports on the boy’s progress. Other days, their paths crossed again.

It was by happenstance, usually, as Lysandre always had business in the cities and towns in which he saw the boy again. Three months after first encountering the boy in Ambrette Town, for instance, Lysandre had gone to Geosenge Town to investigate ruins which were tied to an ancient war fought on Kalos’ soil thousands of years ago. He had known the boy was in the area—his grunts had made a note that he seemed to be trying to get through Route 10 as quickly as possible—but he still felt a little surprised when he saw the boy walking through the town square, looking uncomfortable and indecisive as he made an indirect line toward the hotel. This time, he was holding his charmander in his arms.

“. . . _have_ to stop for the night,” Lysandre heard him saying as he passed. “It isn’t that late. We could make more progress on our way to Shalour City.”

His charmander said something that, in Lysandre’s opinion, sounded unhappy.

“I’m not that tired. I just . . .” The boy scowled at the ground, and then sighed. “Fine. I’ll get a room. You could probably use the rest, anyway.”

The charmander patted the boy’s cheek with one paw, and the boy smiled a little as he made a more determined path toward the hotel. Lysandre watched him enter it, and then turned toward the grunts following him, both of whom stopped to salute the moment they saw Lysandre watching them. He nodded toward the hotel.

“You should get some rest as well,” he told them. “He seems eager to leave, so you might have an early day ahead of you tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir,” the male grunt said, at the same time the girl said, “Thank you, sir.” Both of them set off for the hotel, keeping their pace slow no doubt in case the boy was still lingering in the lobby, and Lysandre watched them leave before he set off himself.

The boy was headed to Shalour City, which meant he was likely interested in the Tower of Mastery. Lysandre thought he needed to pay a visit to it as well.

**\- - -**

The boy’s visit to the Tower of Mastery a few weeks later left him empty handed, just as Lysandre had planned when he visited the mega evolution guru and convinced him to part with his last remaining Mega Ring, Key Stone, and Charizardite. Part of Lysandre still couldn’t believe that it was specifically _Charizardite_ that the mega evolution guru had kept an eye on, but on the other hand, fortune had a habit of smiling on him. Just as he was able to ensure that the boy’s quest wouldn’t end here, he was able to ensure that he had something of interest if and when he did decide to recruit the boy to his service. Life had a habit of going his way, and this was no different.

His grunts sent him regular reports. Most often the reports were transcribed accounts of the boy’s day via e-mail, but sometimes there were video reports as well: notable battles the grunts had thought to record, or the day the boy was stopped by a delivery man at a Pokémon Center in Dendemille Town and given a package the grunts had thought seemed suspicious.

 _“It turned out it was just a scarf,”_ the grunts said in their e-mail, _“but we promised to send you everything, so we’ve attached the video if you’re interested.”_

Lysandre was interested, as it turned out. The grunts had recorded the video from the other side of the Pokémon Center, but were still near enough to catch the audio as the boy read the letter contained inside the package aloud to the charmander seated beside him.

_“‘Alan — happy birthday! I hope this manages to reach you in time. I was visiting with an associate in Snowbelle City and saw this scarf in a boutique window. I thought it would suit you. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the flames depicted with a mega evolved charizard, is it not? Well, whether it is or isn’t, I hope you like it. Congratulations on hitting thirteen! Love, Professor Sycamore.’ Oh, look, Lizardon!”_

The rest of the video contained the boy pulling out a puffy blue scarf and throwing it around his neck, proudly showing it to his charmander, who beamed and applauded. The grunts ended the video when the boy ran over to the video phones to give the professor a call, but although they had felt it a waste of time, Lysandre thought the short video contained two very useful pieces of information.

One, he now knew for sure the boy—Alan, rather—was thirteen years old. And two, he also now knew Alan had a definite connection to Augustine Sycamore.

That could prove useful.

**\- - -**

Lysandre decided to approach Alan two months later, after his charmander evolved into a charmeleon.

Lysandre witnessed the event through another video his grunts had sent him, this time of a battle between Alan’s charmander and a particularly adept clauncher. The battle was drawn out, but in the end the charmander was victorious. The grunts recorded every second of the evolution, from the moment it began and Alan watched in shock, to the moment it ended when Alan let out a shout of jubilation and rushed forward to sweep his newly evolved charmeleon up into a hug before he spun it around.

 _“Excellent! Great job, Lizardon!”_ Alan said to his charmeleon, who chatted excitedly back, before he set it back down on the ground. _“We have to go call the professor and tell him! Oh, wait.”_ Alan turned back to his opponent and gave a quick bow. _“Thank you for this battle. Come on, Lizardon, let’s go to the Pokémon Center—I’ll race you!”_

 _“Ugh, he’s going to_ run _?”_ the grunt recording the video hissed, and Alan answered her unheard question as he bolted down the route, his charmeleon following hastily after. The video ended there as the grunts kept up their pursuit, but once again, it was all Lysandre needed.

Alan was on Route 17 still, which meant he was near some ruins Lysandre knew held a Mega Stone. Whether Alan was aware of them yet or not was a mystery, but as Lysandre opened his Holo Caster to get in touch with his grunts, he knew that Alan would soon.

**\- - -**

Lysandre, of course, reached the ruins and retrieved the Ampharosite before Alan did, and waited just out of sight for him to discover it. The disappointment in his voice when he informed his charmeleon that there were no Mega Stones to be found once again was nearly tangible, and Lysandre couldn’t help the smirk on his face as he finally stepped into view, and held the Ampharosite up for the boy to see.

“Excuse me,” he said, the evening sun glinting off the Ampharosite held in his hand, “is this what you’re looking for?”

It was, as Lysandre knew full well given that he had been the one to indirectly send Alan there in the first place, but he couldn’t help but feel amused by the way Alan’s eyes were glued to it, or the way his charmeleon stepped forward preemptively, as if preparing for a fight. It was that, more than anything, which gave Lysandre the idea to “challenge” the boy to a “battle.” He knew, after all, that Alan would never run away from a challenge, and was interested in gauging the charmeleon’s skill in a match (to use the term loosely) against Pyroar.

Pyroar put the charmeleon down quickly, and while the boy was tending to his injured pokémon (both of them visibly shaken by how quickly the battle ended), Lysandre said, “If you want to fulfill your wish, become the greatest.”

Alan started, as though taken aback, before he gave Lysandre a glare over his shoulder. “What exactly does that mean?”

“Come with me and find out,” Lysandre said. He paused, then, and nodded to the injured charmeleon by the boy’s feet. “You can bring your pokémon like that. I have more than enough super potions in my jet.”

Lysandre didn’t look over his shoulder as he headed back toward his private jet, but he heard Alan’s footsteps behind his after only a few moments. This was unsurprising; if Alan’s curiosity and desire for a Mega Stone wasn’t enough to motivate him, Lysandre knew that the promise of super potions—better medicine than anything Alan had on him at present—for his charmeleon would. He had learned many things about the boy over the past numbe of months, but one thing that stood out among all the other smaller details was the amount of care and attention he paid that charmeleon.

They didn’t speak again until they had reached the jet and were seated inside. Lysandre instructed an attendant to bring the super potions for the charmeleon, and when they arrived (after takeoff, something that seemed to make Alan uncomfortable if his facial expression was anything to go by), he waited until the boy had treated his charmeleon before speaking.

“My name is Lysandre,” he said. And then, because it would be better if the boy didn’t know that he already knew, asked, “What is yours?”

Alan gave him a suspicious glance from the corner of his eye before he turned to look out of the window. “. . . Alan.”

“I see. Where are you from?” This question was met with stony silence, Alan staring determinedly out of the window while his charmeleon kept an eye on Lysandre, and Lysandre narrowed his eyes. “You know, it’s common courtesy to answer when someone asks you a question. Did Augustine never teach you basic manners?”

Alan looked over at him with speed that suggested he had been jolted by a thundershock, and his charmeleon looked similarly startled. “You know Professor Sycamore?”

Lysandre smiled. “You would be hard pressed to find someone in Kalos who does not. Well?”

Alan still looked uncomfortable, but the knowledge that Lysandre knew (or knew _of_ , more accurately, but Lysandre saw no reason to clarify) Sycamore seemed to be enough to get him to relax at least a fraction. He and his charmeleon exchanged looks for a moment before he answered, “Lumiose City. More or less.”

“More or less?”

“What about you?” Alan asked. “Where have you come from?”

Lysandre wasn’t a fan of having his questions evaded, but he was wise enough to have patience where perhaps the boy before him did not, and so he merely smiled as he signaled for one of his attendants. “We’re on our way to one of my facilities now,” he said.

Alan frowned, evidently dissatisfied by the answer, but Lysandre ignored the boy’s displeasure as the attendant he had signaled for reached them. He turned to her with a smile.

“I think some drinks are in order for the flight back. I’ll have my usual, thank you. Alan.” He looked back over to see Alan staring at him as though startled by the sudden address. “What would you like?”


End file.
